After studying the issue for more than a year, Mecklenburg County has decided NOT to move forward with a staff proposal to expand a mandatory recycling program to include single-family residential, commercial and multifamily construction sites.

Mecklenburg County’s leadership has decided not to pursue further revisions to the current (Source Separation) Ordinance at this time, and the Ordinance revisions have not been presented to the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) for approval. Weighing in on this decision was the passage of North Carolina House Bill 74, which limits a local governing body’s authority in passing legislation more stringent than that enacted by the State.

An advisory committee last year recommended changes to the existing Source Separation Ordinance (SSO) that would have removed a Temporary Site exemption and begin requiring recycling on all construction and demolition sites. REBIC and the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce were the only members of the committee to vote against the proposed changes, which would also extend recycling requirements to thousands of small business owners across the county.

Under the proposed changes, residential construction sites that contract for the pickup of at least 8 cubic yards of trash per week (determined by how often a 30-cubic-yard container is emptied) would have been required to establish a process for collecting all corrugated cardboard from their job sites and separating it from the normal waste flow. This would necessitate either the use of separate recycling bins on most jobsites, or the use of a Mixed-Waste hauler who would separate the recyclable material off-site.

REBIC applauds County leadership for its decision to shelve this proposal, which would have resulted in higher costs for homeowners and businesses in Charlotte and the six Mecklenburg towns.